RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Fiacre Fiddes
towards the Blessed Life, and Outlines of the Doctrine of Knowledge. Fichte's Sammtliche Werlce (8 vols., Berlin, 1845-46) were edited by his son I. H. Fichte. Fichte derives all philosophical knowledge from the one principle of the consciousness of the indivisible Ego, which posits its own being in distinction from a divisible non-Ego. His ethics is based on the absolute freedom of this Ego as an intelligent being. Religion is by him reduced to faith in the moral order of the universe, and this leads to the positive assertion of immortality on the ground that no ego which by the act of consciousness has become real can ever perish. While Fichte's subjectivism was soon superseded by other metaphysical views, his influence as a moral reformer is felt in Germany even to-day. See Idealism; Religion, Philosophy of.
Bibliography: The authoritative life is by his son, I. H. Fichte, J. G. Fichte's Leben und litterarischer Briefwechsel, Leipsic, 1862. Other accounts are by C. Kostlin, Tubingen, 1862; L. Noack, Leipsic, 1862 (important); 0. Pfleiderer, Stuttgart, 1877; A. Spir, Leipsic, 1879; W. Smith, in the Popular Works, ut sup.; ADB, vi. 761-771 On various phases of his philosophy consult: W Busse, Fichte und seine Beziehung zur Gegenwart des deutschen Volkes, Halle, 1848-49; A. Schopenhauer, Aus A. Schopenhauer's . Nachlass, ed. J. Frauenstadt, pp. 161-189, Leipsic, 1864; F. Bowen, Modern Philosophy, pp. 310-326, New York, 1877; F. Zimmer, J G. Fichte's Religionsphilosophie, Berlin, 1878; A. Seth, The Development from Kant to Hegel, London, 1882; C. C. Everett, Fichte's Science of Knowledge, Chicago, 1884; Anna B. Thompson, The Unity of Fichte's Doctrine of Knowledge, Boston, 1895; I. F. Brown, Doctrine of Freedom of the Will in Fichte's Philosophy, Richmond, Ind., 1900; C. Ivanoff, Die Ethik J. G. Fichte, Leipsic, 1900; H. Lindau, J. G. Fichte und der neuere Socialismus, Berlin, 1900; Ellen B. Talbot, The Fundamental Principles of Fichte's Philosophy, New York, 1906; M. Raich, Fichte, seine Ethik, und seine Stelle zum Problem des Individualismus, Tubingen. 1907.
FICINUS, MARSILIUS (MARSILIO FICINO):
Italian scholar and Platonic philosopher; b. at Florence Oct. 19, 1433; d. at Careggi (3 m. n. of Florence) Oct. 1, 1499. He was the son of a physician of Cosmo de' Medici and had the patronage of the Medici's during three generations. He studied under Gemistos Plethon (q.v.), enjoyed the intercourse of the leaders of the Renaissance, became a teacher of philosophy and the head of the Platonic Academy established in Florence by Cosmo de' Medici, and numbered among his pupils such men as Pico della Mirandola, Reuchlin, and Sixtus IV Convinced of the essential identity of Platonic philosophy and religion, since the truth and wisdom sought by the philosopher are only the truth and wisdom of God, he took orders in 1473, preached in Florence, and was promoted to a canonry in the cathedral. Through his Latin translations from Plato and the Neoplatonists, Plotinus, Jamblichus, and Proclus, he gave a tremendous impetus to Platonic studies in Italy, and thus influenced greatly the development of European philosophy. His most important original work is, Theologia Platonica de animorum immortalitate (Florence, 1482). The first complete edition of his works was published at Basel in two volumes. Bibliography: J. G. Schellhorn, De vita, moribus et scrip-
tis Marsilii Ficini, in vol. i. of Amoznitates, Leipsic, 1730;
K. Sieveking, Geschichte der platonischen Akademie zu
Florenz, Gottingen, 1812; Archivio storico Italiano, 1859
(by L. Galeotti) and 1865 (by A. Conti).
FICKER, PAUL GERHARD: German Protestant; b. at Thonberg, a suburb of Leipsic, Feb. 8, 1865. He studied at the University of Leipsic (1884-89; Ph.D., 1889), the theological seminary of St. Pauli in the same city (1887-89), and the German Archeological Institute, Rome (1889-90). After being assistant pastor and pastor at Sohland-ander-Spree, in 1892, he became privat-docent at Halle in 1893. From 1903 to 1906 he was associate professor of church history at that university, and since 1906 has been full professor at Kiel. In 1900-01 he made an archeological tour of Italy, Tunis, Spain, and France. He belongs to the historical school and has written Der Mitralis des Sicardus nach seiner Bedeutung fur die Ikonographie des Mittelalters (Leipsic, 1889); Studien zur Hippolytfrage (1893); Studien zu Vigilius von Thapsus (1897); Das ausgehende Mittelalter und sein Verhdltnis zur Reformation (1903); Die Petrusakten, Beitrage zu ihrem Verstdndnis (1903); Bonifatius, der " Apostelder Deutschen " (1905); and Amphilohiana, part i. (1906), besides contributing a translation of the Acts of Peter to Hennecke's Neutestamentliche Apokryphen (Tubingen, 1904).
FICKER, PAUL JOHANNES: German Protestant; b. at Leipsic-Neureudnitz Nov. 12, 1861. He studied at Leipsic (1880-84; Ph.D., 1886) and the theological seminary of St. Paul's there (1884-86), and after travels in Italy and Spain became privatdocent for church history at Halle in 1890. In 1892 he was appointed associate professor of the same subject at Strasburg and full professor in 1900. He has edited the Archaologische Studien zum christlichen Altertum und Mittelalter (1897-99) and Studien uber christliche Denkmdler (since 1902), and has written Die Darstellung der Apostel in der altchristlichen Kunst (Leipsic, 1887); Die altchristlichen Bildwerke im christlichen Museum des Laterans (1889); Die Konfutation des Augsburgischen Bekenntnisses (1891); Handschriftenproben des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts nach Strassburger Originalen (2 vols., Strasburg, 1902-05; in collaboration with O. Winckelmann); and Evangelischer Kirchenbau (Leipsic, 1905).
FIDANZA, GIOVANNI DI. See Bonaventura.
FIDDES, fid'dez, RICHARD : English clergyman and author; b. at Hunmanby (34 m. e.n.e. of York), Yorkshire, 1671; d. at Putney (7 m. w.s.w. of St. Paul's, London) 1725. He studied at Oxford, first at Corpus Christi College (1687-90), then at University College (B.A., 1691; B.D., 1713; D.D., 1718), took holy orders in 1694, and in 1696 received the rectory of Halsham, in Holderness. On account of a bad throat he got leave of non-residence, and in 1712 settled in London as a man of letters. His principal works are , A Body of Divinity (2 vols., London, 1718-20); Fifty-two practical Discourses (1820); A General Treatise of Morality (1724), in which he attacks Mandeville; and A Life of Cardinal Wolsey (1724), for which, on account of his disparagement of the Reformation, he was accused of popery, particularly by the assailants of Atterbury.
Bibliography. The one early life is by Thomas Birch in A New and General Biographical Dictionary, London,
Fidelis Fiji